


Indulge (With the Trappings of Love)

by UisceOneLove



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - 1940s, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Artist Steve Rogers, Baking, Bucky Barnes Knows How To Bake, Bucky Spoils Steve, Domestic, Established Relationship, Fluff, Happy, Happy Ending, M/M, Pre-Serum Steve Rogers, Pre-World War II Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-16 04:14:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,639
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29570139
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UisceOneLove/pseuds/UisceOneLove
Summary: Having a free day to themselves in the apartment leaves Bucky able to make some plans. Out of everyone, Steve Rogers deserves t be taken care of for more than just his health.And Bucky's just the pal to do it.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Steve Rogers
Comments: 3
Kudos: 9
Collections: X-Men X-Traordinaire





	Indulge (With the Trappings of Love)

**Author's Note:**

> So, this was for the February Writing Challenge, which was "Indulge". 
> 
> Yet again, not an X-Men pairing, in a challenge by an X-Men group, but I vow the next one will be! I just couldn't resist with these two right now. And this is such a sweeter/fluffier kind of indulgence than I anticipated but hey, it works for the challenge.

"We can take a break if you need, Buck."

Bucky's smile was slow and lazy. "Nah, Stevie, I'm good."

"Are you sure?" Steve's hand stopped moving, pencil hovering above his work. "You've been sitting there for over an hour. If you need to stretch or something--"

"I'm all good," Bucky replied. His back was starting to ache something fierce but it was fine. It was worth it for Steve.

Steve's face told him that his guy didn't believe a word of his assurances but that only served for him to smile even more. Reclining in the wooden chair was never comfortable after ten minutes but this was one of Steve's good days and Bucky was always eager to help him when he wanted new reference sketches.    
  
Bucky loved to be Steve's subject. 

Loved to watch the crease of focus that would overtake the blond's forehead and how he'd thoughtlessly chew on the end of a pencil when any line was proving difficult to catch perfectly. People thought being the muse was an honor for the artist, and Bucky thanked God for being Steve's preferred choice, but they were wrong.

Being Steve's muse, having the intense gaze of those blue eyes all over his body, it made  _ Bucky _ honored to be his inspiration. Steve could pick any dame or fella out there but it was him who got to have that attention. 

So the brunet was willing to spend hours in any pose Steve wanted, just to watch that look and feel that weight of it on him. 

It was a good day. A good week. 

Nothing's tripped any of Steve's many allergies. No asthma attacks, no flues, no pulling the punk out of any alleys. 

These were the days that Bucky selfishly took advantage of while he still could.

Besides, if he indulges Steve's art now, then there's no excuse Steve can use when Bucky makes the blond indulge him after. 

His eyes never leave Steve and his inspired glory. Bucky wants to slink to the floor, crawl over until he's between Steve's knees, and his head to rest. Let Steve stroke his hair despite the pomade that's in it. Maybe push those suspenders down from those bony shoulders and work those slacks open, make the blond as boneless as Bucky feels. 

But that's for later. 

It's a promise to himself as Steve closes the sketchbook with graphite staining his nimble fingers. "If you're not calling it a day then I am," Steve declared, removing himself from the recliner and stretching. Mrs. Hollace from down the hall had given it to them three years ago so that Steve would have a comfortable place to sit. She worried about his health just as much as Bucky did, always asking about Steve when he'd pass her going to work. 

Bucky hid a wince as he extracted himself from the chair, his body protesting now that it was free of its confined position.

"If we're taking a break then I got something for you," Bucky replied.

Steve arched a brow, looking at him suspiciously. "Yeah?"

"What do you think I'm gonna do, pal?" Bucky mimicked Steve's expression. "Do you not trust me now?"

"Do you want me to answer that truthfully?"

Bucky scoffed and walked over to their small kitchen space. "Well, now I might as well not give you the surprise if you feel that way." 

"The last time you got me something, it was a rolled-up newspaper so that you can swat me with it and say 'Bed Stevie'," Steve remarked, unmoved. 

"Sometimes you need a good swat." What else was Bucky supposed to do with all the fights Steve threw himself into?

Steve crossed his arms but did walk over to join him in the kitchen. "Just show me what you got." 

"Well, now I need an incentive," the brunet said with a pout, "because your lack of trust has just been devastating, Stevie."

The blond rolled his eyes at him. "If that was true, you would have been dying from a broken heart since we were five." 

"It's like you want me to die," Bucky wailed dramatically, hanging on to the counter. Steve, clearly done with him, grabs his collar and reels him in for a kiss. Bucky can taste the impatience but it will still go down as a pretty great kiss in his book. 

Steve released him, a smile tugging at his lips under the power of Bucky's own grin. "Just show me this special surprise, all right? I'm starting to think you're just having a mental breakdown." 

"Isn't everyone?" Bucky challenged with a wink. He bent down and opened their oven, a place he knew Steve wouldn't look on his own unless it was dinner time, and pulled out the plate he'd hidden during the blond's shower. He set the plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies on the counter in front of his best pal and let the aroma waft around in Steve's face.

Steve stared down at the cookies, his expression deceivingly blank if someone didn't know what to look for. But Bucky did. He could follow the quiet catch of the blond's breath, the way his hand tremored before picking up one of the cookies. Steve knew what they were and what they meant.

"Bucky," Steve said tightly, "are these--"

"Sarah Rogers' chocolate chip cookies," Bucky confirmed. Sorrow flickered across Steve's face for only a second but he still caught it.

"I would have known if you baked these, so how--"

Bucky smirked. "Mrs. Hollace. She let me borrow her kitchen to keep up the surprise. You're pretty easy to fool sometimes, Steve, all I had to do was tell ya I was checkin on Rebecca."

"You should really go visit her," Steve chastised, the response coming out on autopilot before he frowned. He turned the cookie over carefully in his hand. "Our money's tight and you haven't been picking up extra shifts at the dock, so how could you afford to make it?"

Knowing how Steve was going to react, Bucky turned away from him and grabbed the milk bottle from the fridge. "I made a deal with a guy at work," he shrugged. "He got me some extra ration books."

Steve watched with hard eyes as Bucky poured him a small glass of milk. Bucky still had plenty from those books to cover the treat. He didn't need to know that the books were fakes. Steve would just lay into him about how wrong it is and Bucky needed to spare himself of that. He was giving Steve something special. End of story. He can battle with his own conscience whenever it decides to tell him to. 

"Why would he do that?" Steve asked.

Bucky sighed. "Steve. Eat the damn cookie, would ya? I went through all that hardship making them. Don't ask questions, just eat it."

Steve opened his mouth again so Bucky took the initiative of shoving Steve's hand up so the cookie went right into that opening. They didn't look away from each other while Steve was forced to save his words for chewing instead, and then those blue oceans were lighting up and fluttering shut. That, and only then, was when Bucky let go.

"I'm allowed to want to spoil you from time to time, punk." Bucky's eyes didn't leave the blond, wanting to take in every second of Steve enjoying it. He'll distract Steve until the questions aren't worth asking.

Steve made a non-committal noise, yet his face was soft and his eyes a touch wistful when he opened them. Bucky knew where his head was at, exactly where he wanted Steve to go. There was nothing like the sweet, indulgent comfort of Sarah Rogers' cookies. Always a surprise when she made them, never a disappointment when they were given. Not when she filled them with every ounce of unconditional love that her fragile body carried. 

"They taste just like hers," Steve confessed quietly. 

Bucky took one himself and nibbled on it. "Well, that's because she's not the only one who seems to love your sorry ass."

Steve's eyes shone fondly on him, and it was enough to fill Bucky with his own delight. The Steve Rogers Seal of Approval was something he still sought out.

Bucky fed Steve the rest of the cookie in his own hands, taking pleasure in simply being the one to feed him something still hard to come by at a time like this. He'd work all the shifts he needed to or use up all the forged coupons to be able to make Steve these cookies every week.

"Is this all that your special plan was for me?" Steve eventually asked, when his milk was half-drank and stomach sated with a few delicious cookies. He leaned over the counter, meeting Bucky halfway, with little space between them.

"Now that you mention it," Bucky answered, "I figured it would be a nice way of convincing you to the next idea I had."

"Knew it," Steve replied, unbothered by it, "so what's the idea?"

Bucky grinned, like the cat that caught the canary, and walked around the counter to pull Steve to him. "I might've been able to buy a few other things with my clever planning," he answered. "Like...some new nylons."

Steve went as tight as a bowstring in his arms, fingers digging into Bucky's biceps. "Oh?" he responded, voice dropping to that low octave that made Bucky shiver every time. 

"Mhm."

"Gonna try them on for me, Buck?"

"Already shaved for the occasion," Bucky purred.

"Dammit, Buck," Steve growled. He pulled away from Bucky only to grip his wrist and pull the brunet along to the bedroom. 

Bucky was smug and glowing with it. Today's plan worked out peachy keen.

Now he was in for a fun ride. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and Kudos are always very much welcomed and appreciated!


End file.
